College of Dental Medicine News

College of Dental Medicine News

The MUSC College of Dental Medicine welcomes five new AEGD residents. The new residents bring to MUSC predoctoral dental education experiences from four different universities. Dr. Jennifer Boyland returns as the sixth resident in her second year of AEGD training as chief resident.

Name: Dr. Jennifer Boyland

Dental School: Virginia Commonwealth University

Areas of Interest: Periodontics and Dental Education

What led you to choose the MUSC AEGD program?I was excited to work with such a new program and have enjoyed participating in its growth. It has turned into such a strong program in such a short amount of time and it is something that I am very proud to be a part of. We have had the opportunity to treat very complex cases all under the supervision of incredibly knowledgeable faculty. This experience has been invaluable to my career. I would do it again in a heart beat (This is probably pretty obvious since I was thrilled to have the opportunity to stay on for a second year!).

What do you like about the residency so far?I love getting to work with such talented, intelligent and friendly people here at MUSC. Every day I learn something new from my faculty or co-residents... and I have fun doing it! Great colleagues make all the difference in the world, I feel like I really lucked out here.

Name: Dr. Steve Frames

What led you to choose the MUSC AEGD program? One of the biggest draws to the program was the faculty. There are so many doctors that are leaders in their field at MUSC and I wanted the chance to work with them. In addition, the program has many of the latest advances in dental technology and materials which I wanted to become familiar with.

What do you like about the residency so far? I love the interaction with the other specialties. We have a close relationship with the periodontics department in treatment planning and restoring some really complex cases. It is great to be able to complete a case that involves all the other disciplines working together for a common outcome. I also enjoy the lectures we have regarding new procedures and technology that will soon be the future of dentistry.

Name: Dr. Kate Helfrich

Dental School: Virginia Commonwealth University

Areas of Interest: I'm most interested in becoming a well-rounded practitioner. As most of us in this field do, I love the gratification that comes with a really esthetic case and am appreciating the bigger anterior cases I am tackling in our program so far. I also really enjoy all of the experiences I have had with our special-needs population. I have always considered myself a 'people-person,' but I'm learning a lot about myself and my communication skills.

What led you to choose the MUSC AEGD program? / What do you like about the residency so far?

I was very impressed with Dr. Ziegler, her residents and staff, and the entire MUSC program at my interview. Though I thought I wanted to pursue my graduate year in a GPR, once I saw what this AEGD had to offer, I realized I had been considering the wrong path. I want to be a great general dentist. Though hospital based dentistry seemed "cool" to me initially, I really saw, for the first time, the kind of dentist I have always wanted to and now will be after this program.

I am learning so much about interdisciplinary dentistry. I am testing my comfort zone taking on big cases and surgeries, but am realistic about what I plan to refer out once in private practice. I will be confident with molar endodontics, digital dentistry, surgical procedures, four-handed dentistry, as well as many other skills I was not exposed to in my quick four years of dental school. Even at just six weeks into our program, every day reassures me that I have made the right choice in my decision to attend MUSC.

Name: Dr. Sarah McEnrue

Dental School: University of Kentucky

Areas of Interest: Implants, CADCAM, and Pros

What led you to choose the MUSC AEGD program? It was a beautiful clinic with new technology and helpful talented faculty. It seemed like the perfect program to help me learn methods for success in private practice.

What do you like about the residency so far? All of the new techniques I'm learning and how helpful everyone is.

What led you to choose the MUSC AEGD program?I chose the MUSC AEGD program because I felt it would offer me a wide range of dental experiences. I wanted to learn how to do Cerec restorations and the program allows the residents to use such dental technology and get hands on experience on a variety of patients. In addition, I was impressed with the program's focus on interdisciplinary dentistry and educating residents on working with other dental specialties. I also think the program's excellent leadership and mentorship by Dr. Ziegler and various other faculty members was a driving force in my decision to participate in the program.

What do you like about the residency so far?I like the program's sense of community and teamwork. All of the residents, assistants, and mentors work together to help treat the patient with the utmost care. I have been able to learn different ways of treatment planning and patient management which have helped me to approach different challenging cases. I also have enjoyed experiencing new clinical techniques and practicing four-handed dentistry.

Name: Dr. Amanda Koeppel

Dental School: Virginia Commonwealth University School of Dentistry

Areas of Interest: Cosmetic Dentistry, Endodontics

What led you to choose the MUSC AEGD program?This program is a great stepping stone to private practice. The patient pool and rotation schedule here exposes us to all specialties. There are ample opportunities to learn advanced private practice procedures that we were not exposed to in dental school. Unlike other AEGD programs, specialty programs in this dental school do not take away from our experiences in those specialties.

What do you like about the residency so far?I'm lucky that I ended up with fabulous co residents! Like private practice we consult with each other and share dental school experiences; we all learned things in a slightly different way, and it's helpful to use each resident for their strengths.

Under the leadership of Dr. Michelle Ziegler, the AEGD program is continuing to make strides to offer cutting edge dentistry to benefit both residents and patients.

Dr. Ziegler has a wealth of experience and a passion for treating special needs patients and is making great strides to incorporate this into the residency curriculum. Before joining MUSC as the Director of the AEGD program in June of 2012, Dr. Ziegler was the Director of the GPR program at Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch, New Jersey for 10 years. Before running that GPR program, she was the Director of the GPR program at Lutheran Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York for 7 years. Dr. Ziegler brings a wide array of ideas and experiences to help the MUSC AEGD program prepare for growth and opportunity in the near future.

The MUSC AEGD program was established in 2011 and is continuing to evolve into a highly sought after opportunity for dentists to expand their scope of practice and expertise. For potential applicants the program is expanding to five residents in 2013 and possibly six residents by 2014. Dr. Ziegler is also excited to offer residents an additional clinical site for residents to treat pediatric patients as well as those with special needs.

The program offers comprehensive dental services to patients of all ages provided by licensed dentists at reduced fees. Patients are afforded the opportunity to integrate CAD-CAM technology into their treatment, which can include same-day crowns and other state-of-the-art services that reduce wait time and make services more convenient to patients. For more information about the dental services provided or to schedule an appointment, please contact the AEGD program at 843-792-1652.